Awakening hope

Monday in the Second Week of Lent

Wake up, my spirit; awake lute and harp;
I myself will waken the dawn.
Psalm 57:8

“I miss seeing their happy faces,” my friend texts. This is in response to the picture I sent of the wide-open purple crocuses in my front yard. She no longer lives in a region where these bloom.

I have been watching them for days, expecting this final full burst. For the next few days, they will open to the morning sun and then close up for the night. Then they will be no more. It is easy to overlook them, not only because they are short lived, but because they are so common here. Hardly extraordinary.

Yet their happy faces bring a smile to mine. And today I remind myself not to overlook or underestimate the power of small beauties. Like small kindnesses and small mercies they bring light and life to the world, combat the darkness of uncertainly and fear, and awaken hope. And hope is no small thing.